The Basque Government has rejected the administrative appeal lodged by residents of Larrazabal and the Aiaraldeko Mendiak Bizirik platform against the Ferosca I wind farm project. The Department of Industry stated that the appellants failed to demonstrate that the project would cause any damage.
“"They cannot approve a project that has been reduced from six to three wind turbines without public information, without a final technical project, or without updating urban planning reports."
According to a press release from the platform, while the Government's decision is formally legal, it did not evaluate the arguments presented. They also denounced that the exclusion of the Laudio and Amurrio City Councils from the Monitoring Committee could be an indication of irregularity.
Although the Basque Government has ruled out a precautionary halt to the project, the platform and residents have indicated that the Department of Industry's decision does not conclude the procedure. Thus, the option to file an administrative contentious appeal remains open.
For this, they will rely on five main reasons: discrepancies between the submitted and approved projects, incompatibility with municipal urban planning regulations, lack of information regarding project changes, the rejection by the City Councils, and the irreparable damage it could cause to the territory and environment.
